Ultrasound transducer and method for wafer level front face attachment

ABSTRACT

Methods and systems are provided for a single element ultrasound transducer. In one embodiment, the ultrasound transducer comprises: a piezoelectric layer, a matching layer, one surface of the matching layer is electrically coupled to a top surface of the piezoelectric layer and another surface of the matching layer forms a signal pad within a front face of the ultrasound transducer, and a base package electrically coupled to a bottom surface of the piezoelectric layer, the base package extending horizontally and laterally to form a back face of the ultrasound transducer parallel to the front face of the ultrasound transducer, and extending vertically relative to the back face of the ultrasound transducer to form a ground pad within the front face of the ultrasound transducer. In this way, the transducer can work robustly and may be automatically mounted to a flat substrate with printed circuit.

FIELD

Embodiments of the subject matter disclosed herein relate to anultrasound transducer, and more particularly, to a single elementtransducer with wafer level packaging.

BACKGROUND

Single element transducers can be mounted to one end of a probe forinvasive imaging of blood vessels or cavities within the human body. Bysending a voltage signal to the transducer through the probe, apiezoelectric material within the transducer is excited and generatesacoustic signals propagating within the same plane of the excitation.The same piezoelectric material can also convert received acousticsignals into voltage signals. By rotating the probe along itslongitudinal axis, a side-looking transducer can image a planeperpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the probe. The side-lookingprobe can be used in applications such as intravascular imaging. Thesignal element transducer may alternatively be mounted to one end of theprobe to form a forward looking probe, that is, a probe for imaging inthe same direction as the longitudinal axis of the cable. The forwardlooking probe can be used in applications such as rectal imaging.Multiple single element transducers may also be assembled into a sparsearray (such as a basket type array) for applications such as mapping aheart chamber. Since the ultrasound probes are designed for invasiveimaging, miniaturized ultrasound transducers may be utilized.

Wiring two electrodes of a single element transducer to the probe can bechallenging due to the small size of the transducer. One approach is toattach the first electrode of the transducer to a substrate having aprinted circuit, and manually apply silver epoxy to connect the secondelectrode to the substrate. However, this process lacks reproducibilityand robustness. Since silver epoxy has high viscosity, therefore it isdifficult to manually apply a controlled amount of epoxy. Silver epoxyalso lacks robust adhesion to the substrate due to its high sensitivityto moisture and long curing time. Further, due to long touch time andcycle time, the process is not suitable for manufacturing disposableprobes.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

In one embodiment, an ultrasound transducer comprises a piezoelectriclayer extending horizontally and laterally, a matching layer extendinghorizontally and laterally for acoustic impedance matching, and a basepackage. One surface of the matching layer is electrically coupled to atop surface of the piezoelectric layer and another surface of thematching layer forms a signal pad within a front face of the transducer.The base package is electrically coupled to a bottom surface of thepiezoelectric layer, and the base package extends horizontally andlaterally to form a back face parallel to the front face, and furtherextends vertically relative to the back face to form a ground pad withinthe front face of the ultrasound transducer. In this way, two electrodes(the ground pad and the signal pad) of the transducer are integratedinto the transducer body with wafer level packaging, enabling automaticand reliable surface mounting of the transducer onto a substrate.

It should be understood that the brief description above is provided tointroduce in simplified form a selection of concepts that are furtherdescribed in the detailed description. It is not meant to identify keyor essential features of the claimed subject matter, the scope of whichis defined uniquely by the claims that follow the detailed description.Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limited toimplementations that solve any disadvantages noted above or in any partof this disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will be better understood from reading thefollowing description of non-limiting embodiments, with reference to theattached drawings, wherein below:

FIG. 1 shows an example ultrasound system attached to a probe includinga single element ultrasound transducer.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example process of manufacturing an acoustic stackwith interdigitated comb structures.

FIG. 3 shows an example pattern for dicing the acoustic stack into ahexagonal transducer.

FIG. 4A shows a cross-sectional view of an example embodiment of thehexagonal transducer.

FIG. 4B shows a top view of the hexagonal transducer

FIG. 4C shows a three dimensional rendering of the hexagonal transducer.

FIG. 5A shows one embodiment of a rectangular transducer.

FIG. 5B shows another embodiment of the rectangular transducer.

FIG. 6A shows one embodiment of the single element ultrasound transducerwith a dematching layer.

FIG. 6B shows one embodiment of the single element transducer with asecond matching layer.

FIG. 6C shows one embodiment of the single element transducer with asecond backing layer.

FIG. 6D shows one embodiment of the single element transducer with apiezoelectric layer in contact with a base package.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example process for mounting the hexagonaltransducer to substrate.

FIG. 8 is a three dimensional rendering of the hexagonal transducermounted to the substrate.

FIG. 9 shows a cross-sectional view of the hexagonal transducer mountedto the substrate.

FIG. 10A shows the transducer being picked up by a die ejector.

FIG. 10B shows glue dispensed to the substrate.

FIG. 10C shows the transducer aligned with the substrate.

FIG. 10D shows the position of the transducer relative to a circuitprinted on the substrate.

FIG. 10E illustrates the transducer being attached to the substrate.

FIG. 11 shows an example method of manufacturing an ultrasoundtransducer assembly including the single element ultrasound transducer.

FIG. 12 shows an example method of mounting the transducer to asubstrate.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description relates to various embodiments of a singleelement ultrasound transducer. In particular, systems and methods areprovided for a single element ultrasound transducer with a wafer levelfront face attachment for constructing a side-looking, forward-looking,or sparse array ultrasound probe. FIG. 1 shows an example configurationof the side-looking probe attached to an ultrasound imaging system. Thesingle element ultrasound transducer is manufactured through wafer levelpackaging, by dicing through an acoustic stack including a piezoelectriclayer. The procedure of manufacturing the acoustic stack is shown inFIG. 2. The acoustic stack is made by interdigitating two combstructures. FIG. 3 shows an example of dicing pattern for manufacturinga hexagonal transducer. The detailed configuration of the hexagonaltransducer is shown in FIGS. 4A-4C. FIGS. 5A and 5B show exampleembodiments of a rectangular single element transducer. FIGS. 6A-6D showalternative configurations of the single element transducer. Since thetwo electrodes are integrated into a flat surface, the front face of thetransducer may be directly mounted to a substrate with a printedcircuit. FIGS. 7-8 show a hexagonal transducer attached to thesubstrate. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of ultrasound transducerassembled with the substrate. FIGS. 10A-10E illustrate the procedure ofassembling the transducer with the substrate. FIG. 11 and FIG. 12 areflow charts showing the method of manufacturing the transducer and themethod of mounting the transducer to the substrate. Through thefollowing description of the images, same parts are provided with samereference numerals.

Though a probe with a single element transducer is described by way ofexample, it should be understood that the present techniques may also beuseful for constructing a probe with an array of single elementtransducers, such as constructing an array based intravascularultrasound catheter.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an ultrasound imaging system 100 inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention. System 100 includes adisplay module 101, a controller/processor 102, a pulser/receiver 103,and a probe 140. The dashed lines (110, 120, and 130) indicatecommunication of electrical signals between system components. The probeincludes a cable 104 and a single element ultrasound transducer 105mounted on one distal end of cable 104. In one embodiment, thetransducer faces sideways from cable 104. The transducer generatesacoustic signals and receives reflected acoustic signals in a directionperpendicular to the longitudinal axis 107 of the probe. The cable 104may be a coaxial cable that can rotate relative to its longitudinal axisso that a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the probe maybe imaged (e.g., the cable may have a rotational axis that is parallelto and aligned with the longitudinal axis of the probe). In anotherembodiment, the transducer may generate acoustic signal along thelongitudinal axis 107 of the probe, as a forward looking transducer. Inyet another embodiment, multiple transducers may be mounted to thedistal end of cable 104 to form an array, such as a basket type array.Probe 140 may further include a sheet 106 covering the cable 104 and thetransducer 105. The sheet may be flexible and transparent to acousticsignals.

Pulser/receiver 103 is controlled by controller/processor 102 forgenerating a high voltage pulse to probe 140. Acoustic signals reflectedto the probe from the imaged object are converted into electricalsignals and transmitted back to the pulser/receiver. The pulser/receivermay also amplify the received electrical signals from the probe. Thereceived electrical signals are further transmitted tocontroller/processor 102 via 120. An image or map of the imaged objectis constructed based on the received electrical signals and displayed ondisplay 101 and/or stored in memory.

In another embodiment, the probe may include an array of ultrasoundtransducers, and can image or sense a plane or a volume without rotatingcable 104.

The single element ultrasound transducer may be manufactured via waferlevel packaging by dicing an interdigitated acoustic stack. FIG. 2illustrates an example procedure for manufacturing the interdigitatedacoustic stack. Arrow 261 denotes a horizontal direction. Arrow 263denotes a vertical direction, perpendicular to the horizontal direction.The lateral direction is perpendicular to both the horizontal andvertical directions. Axis 270 denotes time and is increasing asindicated by the arrow.

At T1, a layered stack 210 is manufactured. Layered stack 210 comprisesa backing layer 211, a piezoelectric layer 212, and a matching layer213. The layered stack expands horizontally and laterally in a plane.Backing layer 211 and matching layer 213 are mounted vertically relativeto the plane of the layered stack, with the piezoelectric layer 212positioned between the backing layer and the matching layer. A firstsurface of the piezoelectric layer is in contact with the backing layer.A second surface of the piezoelectric layer, opposite to the firstsurface, is in contact with the matching layer. The piezoelectric layermaybe bonded with the backing layer and the matching layer with gluesuch as epoxy.

The piezoelectric layer may be made with a piezoelectric material, suchas lead zirconate titanate. The thickness of the piezoelectric layer maybe half of the wavelength of the acoustic signal. The first surface andthe second surface of the piezoelectric layer act as two electrodes. Byapplying a voltage across the two electrodes, the piezoelectric materialis excited and generates acoustic signals in a direction parallel to thevertical direction. The piezoelectric material may also convert acousticsignals back into electrical signals across the two electrodes. When thepiezoelectric material is switched from the transmission to thereceiving mode, ringing effect may occur and affect the received signal.The backing layer can dampen the ringing effect. The backing layer maybe made of conductive material such as graphite or aluminum. Thematching layer is for matching the acoustic impedance difference betweenthe transducer and the medium that the transducer is immersed withinduring imaging. As an example, the matching layer may be configured tomatch the acoustic impedance difference between the transducer and waterwhen the transducer is used for biological tissue imaging. The matchinglayer may be made of conductive material such as silver epoxy, graphite,or aluminum. As an example, the thickness of the matching layer may beone fourth of the wavelength of the acoustic signal. As another example,the thickness of the backing layer may be determined based on a requiredacoustic attenuation.

At T2, a first comb structure 220 is made. The first comb structure maybe manufactured by dicing evenly spaced kerfs 214 on the layeredstructure 210. The kerfs extend along the lateral direction, and areevenly spaced along the horizontal direction. Kerf 214 extendsvertically through the backing layer 211 and the piezoelectric layer212. Kerf 214 further extends into, but not through the matching layer213. As such, fins 215 are formed in the lateral direction. The adjacentfins are separated by a kerf.

At T3, a conductive base package 230 is made. The base package 230 is acomb structure complimentary to the first comb structure 220. The basepackage may be manufactured by dicing kerfs into a flat conductivesubstrate. The base package may made from conductive material includegraphite, porous graphite filled with resin, stainless steel, oraluminum. The base package includes fins 216 extending laterally and areseparated by kerfs 217. The base package is complimentary to the firstcomb structure 220 in a way that a respective depth 218 of each of thefins of the base package 230 is the same as a respective depth 219 ofeach of the fins of the first comb structure 220, and a respective width232 of each fin of the first comb structure 220 is less than arespective width 233 of each kerf in the base package 230. In otherwords, in both the first comb structure and the base package, the depthof the kerfs may be the same as the height of the fins, and the width ofthe fins of the first comb structure is less than the width of the kerfsof the base package. As such, the base package 230 and the first combstructure 220 can be laminated into an acoustic stack withinterdigitated comb structures.

At T4, acoustic stack 240 is made by laminating the first comb structure220 and the base package 230. Non-conductive glue 231 is dispensedbetween the fins of the first comb structure 220 and the fins of thebase package 230. As such, piezoelectric layer 212 and backing layer 211are insulated from the base package 230 by the non-conductive glue. Asan example, the non-conductive glue may be a non-conductive resin suchas epoxy.

At T5, excessive material in the matching layer is removed. In anotherembodiment, material in both the matching and the backing layers of theacoustic stack 240 is removed. As an example, the excessive material maybe removed by grinding. The matching layer is ground so that the width251 of the ground matching layer 252 is the same as the width 232 of thefin in the first comb structure. The top surface of the ground acousticstack includes the top surface 255 of the fin of the conductive basepackage. As such, viewing from direction A, the matching layer and thefins of the base package are separated by non-conductive glue. 253 and254 indicate the central axes of the fin of a base package 257 and thefin of the first comb structure, respectively. The top surface of thematching layers are separated by the top surface 255 of fins. The basepackage forms the bottom surface of acoustic stack 250. A top view ofthe acoustic stack 250 viewed from direction A is shown in FIG. 3. Asappreciated by FIG. 3, the top surface of acoustic stack 250 comprisesalternating sections of base package (e.g., fin 216) and matching layer252 separated by non-conductive glue 231.

FIG. 3 shows an example pattern of dicing the ground acoustic stack 250into individual ultrasound transducers. Arrow 262 denotes the lateraldirection, and arrow 261 denotes the horizontal direction. Theindividual transducers may be of various shapes based on the applicationand physical constrains of the probe. As a non-limiting example, adicing pattern for hexagonal transducers is shown here. The acousticstack may be diced along lateral lines 311 and 314, and diagonal lines312. Lateral lines 314 may be along the fins 216 of the base package. Asan example, line 314 is the central axis of the fin of the base package(253 in FIG. 2). Lateral lines 311 may be between the two lateral lines314 and may be along the ground matching layer 252. As an example, line311 is the central axis of the fin of the first comb structure (254 inFIG. 2). Thus, when the acoustic stack 250 is diced as shown, lateralslices along the fins of the base package and along the matching layerare made. The fins of the base package extend along the entirety of thedepth of the acoustic stack from the top surface of the acoustic stackviewed in FIG. 3 to a bottom surface of the acoustic stack opposite thetop surface. The matching layer does not extend along the entirety ofthe depth of the acoustic stack, but rather the piezoelectric layer,backing layer, and base package are positioned under the matching layer.As such, the front face of an individual transducer 310 includes aground pad formed by the base package and a signal pad formed by thematching layer and separated from the ground pad formed by thenon-conductive glue. The example dicing pattern has the advantage ofobtaining a transducer with near round top surface with minimal waste ofthe material.

In another embodiment, rectangular transducers with rectangular frontfaces and at least one ground pad in the front face may be made bydicing along lateral lines and horizontal lines. At least one lateralline is along the fin of the base package to ensure the front face ofthe transducer has a ground pad.

FIGS. 4A-4C show an example hexagonal single element ultrasoundtransducer that may be formed by dicing the acoustic stack 250 of FIG.2, for example. Arrow 263 denotes the vertical direction, arrow 261denotes the horizontal direction, and arrow 262 denotes the lateraldirection.

FIG. 4A is a side view of transducer 410. The transducer comprises aflat front surface including a signal pad 421 and a ground pad 422. Thesignal pad 421 is a surface of and hence formed by the matching layer401 and is electrically coupled to a top surface 413 of thepiezoelectric layer via the matching layer. The ground pad 422 is asurface of and hence formed by the base package 402 and is electricallycoupled to a bottom surface 414 of the piezoelectric layer via the basepackage 402 and the backing layer 406. By applying a voltage across thetwo electrodes of the transducer (that is, the signal and ground pad), avoltage potential is built between the top and bottom surfaces of thepiezoelectric layer. As such, the piezoelectric layer 405 may be excitedand generates an acoustic signal. Note that the two electrodes of thetransducer are interchangeable. When applying a voltage across theelectrodes, the high voltage may be supplied to either the ground pad orthe signal pad. The configuration of the transducer enables the frontsurface to be easily mounted to a substrate having a printed circuit.Meanwhile, since the electrodes of the transducer are manufacturedthrough wafer level packaging, the transducer is one compact component,therefore can reliably and robustly generate and receive acousticsignals.

The single element transducer comprises a vertically stacked matchinglayer 401, piezoelectric layer 405, and backing layer 406, wherein thepiezoelectric layer is between the matching layer and the backing layer.The width and length of the matching layer, piezoelectric layer, and thebacking layer along the horizontal and lateral directions are the same.The top surface 411 of the backing layer is in direct contact withbottom surface 414 of the piezoelectric layer. The top surface 413 ofthe piezoelectric layer is in direct contact with the matching layer401. The bottom surface 412 of the backing layer is in direct contactwith base package 402. Base package 402 extends horizontally andlaterally and forms a back face 430 of the transducer. The back face 430is a flat surface. Base package 402 extends vertically from the backface 430 to the front face of the transducer, and forms a ground pad 422within the front face. The front face also includes a signal pad 421formed by the top surface of matching layer 401. The ground pad 422 andthe signal pad 421 are separated by a non-conductive groove 404. Thenon-conductive groove is the top surface of non-conductive glue 403. Thenon-conductive glue extends vertically and separates the matching layer401 and the piezoelectric layer 405 from the base package 402. Thenon-conductive glue 403 also separates the side surface of backing layer406 from base package 402.

Herein, a top surface of a layer refers to a flat surface extendinghorizontally and laterally, and is higher than a bottom surface, whereinthe increased height in the vertical direction is indicated by arrow263. The side of a layer refers to a side surface of the layer parallelto the vertical axis.

In another embodiment, backing layer 406 may be replaced with adematching layer. The dematching layer may be constructed with amaterial of higher acoustic impedance than the piezoelectric layer sothat the majority of acoustic energy is transmitted through the matchinglayer.

FIG. 4B shows the front face 420 of the hexagonal transducer, viewingfrom a direction B shown in FIG. 4A. The front face is a flat surfaceincluding ground pad 422, signal pad 421, and non-conductive groove 404electrically separating and insulating the ground pad from the signalpad.

FIG. 4C is a three dimensional view of the hexagonal transducer. Basepackage 402 partially surrounds a stack including the backing layer 406,the piezoelectric layer 405, and the matching layer 401.

FIGS. 5A and 5B show a cross-sectional view and a top view,respectively, of a rectangular single element ultrasound transducer intwo embodiments. The rectangular transducers may be manufactured bydicing an acoustic stack, such as the acoustic stack 250 in FIG. 2, withhorizontal and lateral dicing trajectories. Arrow 263 denotes thevertical direction, arrow 261 denotes the horizontal direction, andarrow 262 denotes the lateral direction.

FIG. 5A shows one embodiment of the rectangular transducer. In across-sectional view 510 of the transducer, the transducer comprisesmatching layer 511, piezoelectric layer 515, backing layer 516, basepackage 512, and non-conductive glue 513. The base package partiallysurrounds the piezoelectric layer, backing layer, and backing layer. Thenon-conductive glue separates the base package from the piezoelectriclayer. The front face 520 of the rectangular transducer viewed fromdirection C includes the ground pad 521, signal pad 523, andnon-conductive groove 522 separating the ground pad and the signal pad.The ground pad 521, non-conductive groove 522, and signal pad 523 areall rectangular.

The rectangular transducers may be manufactured by dicing the acousticstack 250 in FIG. 2 with horizontal and lateral dicing lines, whereinthe lateral dicing lines including lines along the fins of the basepackage and lines along the fins of the first comb structure (such as314 and 311 of FIG. 3).

FIG. 5B shows another embodiment of the rectangular transducer havingtwo ground pads within the front face. The additional ground pad mayserve as a redundancy to ensure reliable grounding of the transducer.The cross-sectional view of the transducer is shown as 530, and thefront face of the transducer view from direction D is shown as 540. Thematching layer 531, piezoelectric layer 535, and backing layer 536 forma layered structure. The top surface of matching layer forms signal pad542 within the front face of the transducer. Base package 533 is incontact with backing layer 536, and extends laterally and horizontallyto form the back face 531 of the transducer. The base package extendsvertically from the back face and forms the two ground pads 543 withinthe front face 540. Non-conductive glue 532 extend vertically betweenthe layered stack and the base package, and form two non-conductivegrooves 541 within the front face. Within the front face, the two groundpads 543 locate on opposite sides of the signal pad 542. The signal padis insulated from the ground pad by the non-conductive groove 541.

As an example, the rectangular transducers may be manufactured by dicingthe acoustic stack 250 in FIG. 2 with horizontal and lateral dicinglines, wherein the lateral dicing lines are along the fins of the basepackage (such as 314 of FIG. 3). Further, at least in one example, thewidth of the fins and kerfs of both the first comb structure and basepackage may be adjusted in order to adjust the width of the transduceralong the horizontal axis. For example, the width of fins of the firstcomb structure and the width of kerfs of the base package are decreasedto reduce the width of the rectangular transducer with two ground padsalong the horizontal direction. In this way, a transducer having twoground pads may be produced, where the dimensions of the signal pad maybe the same as a transducer having a single ground pad.

FIGS. 6A-6D show cross-sectional views of other embodiments of thetransducer. FIG. 6A shows a first embodiment of the transducer with adematching layer. FIG. 6B shows a second embodiment of the transducerwith a second matching layer. FIG. 6C shows a third embodiment of thetransducer with a second backing layer. FIG. 6D shows a fourthembodiment of the transducer with a piezoelectric layer in contact witha base package.

In FIG. 6A, dematching layer 611 is added between the piezoelectriclayer 613 and backing layer 614. The dematching layer is of the samewidth and length in the horizontal and lateral directions as thepiezoelectric layer, and is separated from base package 615 bynon-conductive glue 616. The dematching layer may reduce the thicknessof the piezoelectric layer 613 to a quarter acoustic wavelength, andalso reduce the thickness of the backing layer. As an example, thedematching layer may be made with tungsten carbide, and may be of aquarter of acoustic wavelength thick.

In FIG. 6B, a second matching layer 621 may be added on top of the firstmatching layer 622 to provide improved impedance matching between thepiezoelectric layer and the imaging medium. The second matching layer isof the same width and length in the horizontal and lateral directions asthe piezoelectric layer 623 and the backing layer 624. The signal pad627 within the front face of the transducer is the top surface of thesecond matching layer. The second matching layer 621 is separated fromthe base package 625 by non-conductive glue 626.

In FIG. 6C, a second backing layer 631 is added. The base package 636partially surrounds a stack including a matching layer 633, apiezoelectric layer 634, and a first backing layer 635. The top surface638 of the second backing layer is in contact with the back face 638 ofthe transducer. The second backing layer 631 extends horizontally andlaterally, and is separated from the first backing layer 635 by the basepackage 636. The second backing layer may provide extra dampening of theringing effect caused by exciting the piezoelectric layer. The secondbacking layer may be made of either conductive or non-conductivematerial.

In FIG. 6D, instead of having a backing layer between a piezoelectriclayer and a base package, the piezoelectric layer 642 may be in directcontact with the base package 644. The matching layer 641 is on top ofthe piezoelectric layer 642. The matching layer 641 is separated fromthe base package 644 by non-conductive glue 643. The backing layer 645is in direct contact with the back face 646 of the transducer. Thebacking layer 645 may be either electrically conductive ornon-conductive. For example, the backing layer 645 may be constructedout of non-conductive material such as epoxy glue mixed with higherimpedance loads like tungsten powder or aluminum oxide, or epoxy gluemixed with low impedance material such as hollow micro balloon ofpolymer.

FIG. 7 illustrates a single element ultrasound transducer being mountedto substrate 700 as shown by arrow 720. As a non-limiting example, ahexagonal transducer 410 is shown in the figure. The substrate may be aflex pad with circuit printed on top. As an example, the flex pad may bepolyimide. The circuit may be printed on the flex pad with copper. Theprinted circuit includes a ground pad 712, a signal pad 711, and aseparation line 713 separating the ground pad from the signal pad. Theprinted circuit further includes a ground wire 715 connected to theground pad 712, and a signal wire 714 connected to the signal pad 711.The ground wire and signal wire may be housed in a coaxial cable, atleast in one example. The ground and signal wires may be coupled to theprobe for transmitting electrical signals. The ground pad 712 and thesignal pad 711 may be coupled to the coaxial cable of the probe. Thefront face 420 of the transducer is mounted to the printed circuit onflex pad 710, with the ground pad of the transducer aligned with groundpad 712 on the flex pad, the signal pad of the transducer aligned withsignal pad 711 on the flex pad, and the non-conductive groove of thetransducer aligned with the separation line 713 on the flex pad.

FIG. 8 is a three dimensional view of a hexagonal transducer attached toflex pad 710. FIG. 9 shows a cross-sectional view showing the transducerwith its front face in contact with the printed circuit. Specifically,signal pad 421 of the transducer is in contact with signal pad 711 ofthe printed circuit; ground pad 422 of the transducer is in contact withground pad 712 of the printed circuit; and non-conductive groove 404 isaligned with separation line 713. As an example, the ground pad andsignal pad on flex pad 710 may be printed by depositing copper onto apolyimide layer. The copper layer of the printed circuit and matchinglayer 401 of the acoustic stack may act as a mass of a spring-massobject, with the matching layer corresponding to the spring. Therespective acoustic impedance and the thickness of the mass (the copperof the flex) and the spring (the matching layer) can be adjusted in sucha way that the resonant frequency of the mass-spring object falls intothe range of preferred bandwidth for specific application. The polyimideof the flex pad may act as a final matching layer.

In the above embodiments of the single element transducer, the signalpad is electrically coupled to the top layer of the piezoelectric layer,and the ground pad is electrically coupled to the bottom layer of thepiezoelectric layer. To generate an acoustic signal, a voltage potentialmay be applied to the transducer by electrically coupling a positive tabof a power source to the signal pad, and a negative (or ground) tab ofthe power source to the ground pad of the transducer. Alternatively, avoltage potential may be applied to the transducer by electricallycoupling a positive tab of the power source to the ground pad of thetransducer, and the negative tab (or ground) tab of the power source tothe signal pad of the transducer. In other words, the signal and groundpad of the transducer are interchangeable.

FIG. 11 shows a high level flow chart of method 1100 for manufacturing asingle element transducer assembly, wherein the transducer has a waferlevel front face attachment to a flat substrate.

At 1101, a first comb structure is manufactured. As shown in 210 and 220of FIG. 2, the first comb structure is made by dicing kerfs in a layeredstructure including a matching layer, a piezoelectric layer, and abacking layer.

At 1102, a base package is manufactured. The based package is in theform of a second comb structure, complimentary to the first combstructure. As shown in 230 of FIG. 2, the base package may be made bydicing kerfs in a conductive material.

At 1103, the first comb structure is laminated with the base packageinto an acoustic stack as shown in 240 of FIG. 2. Non-conductive glue isdispensed between the first comb structure and the base package to bondthe comb structures together.

At 1104, the acoustic stack is ground so that the matching layer isseparated from the base package by the non-conductive glue at the topsurface of the acoustic stack. The ground acoustic stack is shown in 250of FIG. 2 and FIG. 3.

At 1105, the ground acoustic stack is diced into individual transducers.The transducer's front face may be of various shapes based on the dicingpattern. As an example, the dicing pattern for a hexagonal transducer isshown in FIG. 3.

At 1106, the individual transducer is mounted onto a flat substratehaving a printed circuit. An example of the procedure is shown in FIGS.10 and 12.

FIG. 12 shows method 1200 for mounting a transducer to a substrate viasurface mounting. As an example, the transducer may be mounted to asubstrate by a die bonding method. Procedures of method 1200 areillustrated in FIGS. 10A-10E. Method 1200 may be performed in order tomount the hexagonal transducer 410 to substrate 700 of FIG. 7, forexample.

At 1201, the transducer is picked up by a die ejector. As shown in FIG.10A, the transducer 410 is picked up by die ejector 1011. The dieejector 1011 may pick up the transducer by attaching to the back face430 of the transducer.

At 1202, method 1200 determines the orientation of the transducer bypattern recognizing of its front face 420. As an example, theorientation may be determined by identifying the ground pad and thesignal pad within the front face. In some examples, the orientation ofthe transducer may be determined before the transducer is picked up bythe die ejector.

At 1203, method 1200 determines the location of the substrate. As anexample, method 1200 may determine the location of the substrate bypattern recognizing the structure of the printed circuit of thesubstrate. As another example, method 1200 may determine the location ofthe substrate by identifying the position of the holder holding thesubstrate, as well as the relative location of the substrate withrespect to the holder.

At 1204, glue is dispensed on the printed circuit of the substrate. Theglue may be cyanoacrylate glue. As shown in FIG. 10B, glue 1031 isdispensed on to substrate 700 positioned on holder 1032. The glue may bedispensed such that the central axis of the dispensed glue 1022 isaligned with a central axis of the printed circuit.

At 1205, method 1200 aligns the front face of the transducer with theprinted circuit of the substrate. For example, as shown in FIG. 10C, thecentral axis 1021 of the acoustic stack is first aligned with thecentral axis 1022 of glue. Then, as shown in FIG. 10D, thenon-conductive groove 404 of the acoustic stack is aligned with theseparation line 713 of the printed circuit by rotating the transducerrelative to its central axis 1021. Alternatively, the non-conductivegroove 404 of the acoustic stack may be aligned with the separation line713 by rotating the holder 1032 relative to the central axis of the glue1022. As such, the signal pad of the transducer is aligned with thesignal pad of the printed circuit, and the ground pad of the transduceris aligned with the ground pad of the printed circuit.

At 1206, the transducer is laminated onto the substrate by applyingpressure to the transducer. As such, the front face of the transducer isin direct contact with the printed circuit of the substrate. As shown inFIG. 10E, pressure 1052 is applied to the transducer. As a result, theglue 1031 is pushed away from its original dispensed location andbecomes peripheral to the transducer.

At 1207, the glue is cured to secure the bonding between the transducerand the substrate. As one example, the glue may be cured by UV light1051, as shown in FIG. 10E.

A technical effect of the disclosure is that a single element ultrasoundtransducer is manufactured via wafer level packaging. The transducerincludes two electrodes integrated to a flat surface of the transducer.Thus, the transducer is more robust in generating and receiving acousticsignals. Another technical effect of the disclosure is that by arrangingthe two electrodes within a same flat surface of the transducer, thetransducer can be easily and reliably mounted to a flat substrate withprinted circuit. Further, this arrangement enabled automatic mounting ofthe transducer to the substrate.

In one embodiment, an ultrasound transducer comprises a piezoelectriclayer, a matching layer for acoustic impedance matching, one surface ofthe matching layer is electrically coupled to a top surface of thepiezoelectric layer and another surface of the matching layer forming asignal pad within a front face of the ultrasound transducer, and a basepackage electrically coupled to a bottom surface of the piezoelectriclayer, the base package extending horizontally and laterally to form aback face of the ultrasound transducer parallel to the front face of theultrasound transducer, and extending vertically relative to the backface of the ultrasound transducer to form a ground pad within the frontface of the ultrasound transducer. In a first example of the embodiment,the base package is electrically conductive, and the ultrasoundtransducer generates an acoustic signal by coupling a voltage signalacross the ground pad and the signal pad. A second example of theembodiment optionally includes the first example and further includes anon-conductive glue extending vertically relative to the piezoelectriclayer and separating the base package from the piezoelectric layer. Athird example of the embodiment optionally includes one or more of thefirst and second examples, and further includes, wherein thenon-conductive glue forms a non-conductive groove within the front faceof the ultrasound transducer. A fourth example of the embodimentoptionally includes one or more of the first through third examples, andfurther includes, wherein the non-conductive groove separates the groundpad from the signal pad. A fifth example of the embodiment optionallyincludes one or more of the first through fourth examples, and furtherincludes, a conductive backing layer between the piezoelectric layer andthe base package. A sixth example of the embodiment optionally includesone or more of the first through fifth examples, and further includes, adematching layer between the piezoelectric layer and the backing layer.A seventh example of the embodiment optionally includes one or more ofthe first through sixth examples, and further includes, wherein thebacking layer is a first backing layer and further comprising a secondbacking layer extending horizontally and laterally, with one surface incontact with the base package along the back face of the transducer. Aneighth example of the embodiment optionally includes one or more of thefirst through seventh examples, and further includes, a backing layer incontact with the base package along the back face of the transducer.

In another embodiment, an ultrasound transducer assembly comprises aflat substrate, and an ultrasound transducer having a front face mountedto the flat substrate, the front face comprising: a ground padelectrically coupled to a first surface of a piezoelectric layer, theground pad formed by a base package, the base package extendingvertically from the ground pad to a back face of the ultrasoundtransducer, a signal pad electrically coupled to a second surface of thepiezoelectric layer, the signal pad formed by a matching layer, and anon-conductive groove separating the ground pad and the signal pad. In afirst example of the embodiment, the back face of the ultrasoundtransducer is formed by the base package. A second example of theembodiment optionally includes the first example and further includes, asecond ground pad with the front face, wherein the non-conductive grooveis formed by a non-conductive glue, and the non-conductive glue extendsvertically relative to the front face and separates the base packagefrom the piezoelectric layer. A third example of the embodimentoptionally includes one or more of the first and second examples, andfurther includes, wherein the second ground pad is formed by the basepackage. A fourth example of the embodiment optionally includes one ormore of the first through third examples, and further includes, whereinthe flat substrate includes one surface printed with a circuit, and thecircuit is electrically coupled to a coaxial cable.

In another embodiment, a method comprises laminating a comb structureand a conductive base package into an acoustic stack with anon-conductive glue, the comb structure comprising a first fin includinga piezoelectric layer intermediate a matching layer and a backing layer,the conductive base package comprising a second fin and defining abottom surface of the acoustic stack; grinding the acoustic stack, a topsurface of the ground acoustic stack including a top surface of thesecond fin of the conductive base package; and dicing the acoustic stackalong a plane extending from a top surface of the second fin of theconductive base package to the bottom surface of the acoustic stack andintersecting the second fin, thereby to produce an ultrasound transducerhaving a flat front face comprising: a ground pad formed by theconductive base package; a signal pad formed by the matching layer, anda non-conductive groove separating the ground pad and the signal pad. Ina first example of the embodiment, wherein the non-conductive groove isformed by a non-conductive glue. A second example of the embodimentoptionally includes the first example and further includes,manufacturing the comb structure by dicing a layered stack comprisingthe backing layer, the matching layer, and the piezoelectric layer. Athird example of the embodiment optionally includes one or more of thefirst and second examples, and further includes, the comb structure andthe base package are interdigitating laminated. A fourth example of theembodiment optionally includes one or more of the first through thirdexamples, and further includes, mounting the ultrasound transducer to asubstrate by aligning the front face of the ultrasound transducer with acircuit printed of the substrate. A fifth example of the embodimentoptionally includes one or more of the first through fourth examples,and further includes, wherein the circuit includes a ground pad, asignal pad, and a separation line insulating the ground pad from thesignal pad, and aligning the front face with the circuit includesaligning the non-conductive groove of the ultrasound transducer with theseparation line.

As used herein, an element or step recited in the singular and proceededwith the word “a” or “an” should be understood as not excluding pluralof said elements or steps, unless such exclusion is explicitly stated.Furthermore, references to “one embodiment” of the present invention arenot intended to be interpreted as excluding the existence of additionalembodiments that also incorporate the recited features. Moreover, unlessexplicitly stated to the contrary, embodiments “comprising,”“including,” or “having” an element or a plurality of elements having aparticular property may include additional such elements not having thatproperty. The terms “including” and “in which” are used as theplain-language equivalents of the respective terms “comprising” and“wherein.” Moreover, the terms “first,” “second,” and “third,” etc. areused merely as labels, and are not intended to impose numericalrequirements or a particular positional order on their objects.

This written description uses examples to disclose the invention,including the best mode, and also to enable a person of ordinary skillin the relevant art to practice the invention, including making andusing any devices or systems and performing any incorporated methods.The patentable scope of the invention is defined by the claims, and mayinclude other examples that occur to those of ordinary skill in the art.Such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims ifthey have structural elements that do not differ from the literallanguage of the claims, or if they include equivalent structuralelements with insubstantial differences from the literal languages ofthe claims.

1-14. (canceled)
 15. A method, comprising: laminating a comb structureand a conductive base package into an acoustic stack with anon-conductive glue, the comb structure comprising a first fin includinga piezoelectric layer intermediate a matching layer and a backing layer,the conductive base package comprising a second fin and defining abottom surface of the acoustic stack; grinding the acoustic stack, a topsurface of the ground acoustic stack including a top surface of thesecond fin of the conductive base package; and dicing the groundacoustic stack along a plane extending from the top surface of thesecond fin of the conductive base package to the bottom surface of theacoustic stack and intersecting the second fin, thereby producing anultrasound transducer having a flat front face comprising: a ground padformed by the conductive base package; a signal pad formed by thematching layer; and a non-conductive groove separating the ground padand the signal pad.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein thenon-conductive groove is formed by the non-conductive glue.
 17. Themethod of claim 15, further comprising manufacturing the comb structureby dicing a layered stack comprising the backing layer, the matchinglayer, and the piezoelectric layer.
 18. The method of claim 15, whereinthe comb structure and the conductive base package are interdigitated.19. The method of claim 15, further comprising mounting the ultrasoundtransducer to a substrate by aligning the front face of the ultrasoundtransducer with a circuit printed on the substrate.
 20. The method ofclaim 19, wherein the circuit includes the ground pad, the signal pad,and a separation line separating the ground pad from the signal pad, andwherein aligning the front face of the ultrasound transducer with thecircuit includes aligning the non-conductive groove of the ultrasoundtransducer with the separation line.